CCIP campaign begins

Chris_

So, after many arguments with myself I've decided to forget about the CCDA/DP path for a while and go for the CCIP instead. i took a look at the material for CCDP and thought 'can I really face being this bored??'

I plan to start with BGP, then MPLS then QOS - seems to be the most common route I've seen in theses forums. I'm going to change tactic with theses exams; previously I've always set myself a completion date, booked the exam and worked to achieve that date. This time, mainly because nearly all of this material will be completely new to me, I'm going to get to exam ready standard and then book it, we'll see how it goes for me. in the back of my mind I'm thinking a couple of months per exam, maybe less.

Anyway, on to BGP - I'm going with the INE BGP bootcamp for CBTs. Bookwise, I've got Doyles books and Halabi's Internet Routing Architectures. I've also got the BGP student guides and lab guide from a colleague who went on the course for this. I'm hoping this wil be enough.

I can see that although this forum is not visited often, questions seem to get answered very well - so looking forward to dealing with you CCIP bods.

ConstantlyLearning

Good luck. I'll be starting down the CCIP track soon. BGP, then MPLS. Not sure what I'll do then, might do JNCIS-SP and leave QOS till later.

down77

Good deal! We'll have to swap notes since I'm starting on QoS, then BGP+MPLS composite. If all goes well we'll also be working on the R&S @ the same time

networker050184

Sounds like you have enough material for BGP to me. Thats all I used along with heavy experience and some whitepapers from Cisco's site.

Chris_

networker050184 wrote: »

Sounds like you have enough material for BGP to me. Thats all I used along with heavy experience and some whitepapers from Cisco's site.

Well, it's the heavy experience I'm missing - but I'll see how I get on.

Chris_

down77 wrote: »

Good deal! We'll have to swap notes since I'm starting on QoS, then BGP+MPLS composite. If all goes well we'll also be working on the R&S @ the same time

Cool, would love to exchange notes - especially for QOS - I seem to have a massive fear of it!

As far as R&S goes, I'd love to get there some day but with 5 young kids and a job nowhere near that level - I think I'd struggle!!!!

lrb

I'm doing the QoS exam now.. it's definately not as interesting as BGP and MPLS though! For BGP I used IRA and lot's of whitepapers from cisco.com, and for MPLS I used MPLS Fundamentals, and of course plenty of lab time in GNS3 . Best of luck!

networker050184

Chris_ wrote: »

Well, it's the heavy experience I'm missing - but I'll see how I get on.

I think you will still be fine with what you have. The student guides cover things pretty well for the exam and Doyle's book has most of the technical nuances. Halabi's book does a good job of bringing it all together. Add some labbing and you should be good to go.

Good luck!

Chris_

Thanks for the the encouragement guys. Watched the first few INE lessons last night and read the corresponding student guide chapters. I have to say I'm quite impressed with Keith Barker's delivery, this is my first time using INE - although you can see that he has trouble reigning himself in on the basic videos; he just wants to get to the good stuff!

SteveO86

Good luck!!

I'm going to be trekking down this path as well. BGP, MPLS, and lastly QoS (as QoS is what I have the least experience with currently). Haven't set myself any timeline yet. I'll mostly study when I get time between traveling and off work.

I'm halfway through module 2 with the INE BGP videos and so far I'm happy with the quality of the videos hopefully they keep the same pace through to the end.

Chris_

SteveO86 wrote: »

Good luck!!

I'm going to be trekking down this path as well. BGP, MPLS, and lastly QoS (as QoS is what I have the least experience with currently). Haven't set myself any timeline yet. I'll mostly study when I get time between traveling and off work.

I'm halfway through module 2 with the INE BGP videos and so far I'm happy with the quality of the videos hopefully they keep the same pace through to the end.

Good luck to you too. It's always good to have people doing the same cert - we can share ideas when we hit the brick walls.

I've finished module 2 of the videos, just going through the books now reading the corresponding material in them and then a good few days labbing it all up to cement the concepts and config. I'm taking this one nice and slow; my goal here really is the knowledge, not the cert. The cert will be a nice bonus though:)

davidspirovalentine

Chris_ wrote: »

I've decided to forget about the CCDA/DP path for a while and go for the CCIP instead.

LOL! Same here bro!!!

Here are my exam dates for the CCIP. Hopefully I catch you online for some collab/discussion

Mon 12 Sep 2011 642-661 BGP Exam
Mon 10 Oct 2011 642-611 MPLS Exam
Mon 7 Nov 2011 642-642 QOS Exam

Good Luck with your studies

Kind Regards,
David

NOC-Ninja

GOodluck

SteveO86

Chris_ wrote: »

Good luck to you too. It's always good to have people doing the same cert - we can share ideas when we hit the brick walls.

I've finished module 2 of the videos, just going through the books now reading the corresponding material in them and then a good few days labbing it all up to cement the concepts and config. I'm taking this one nice and slow; my goal here really is the knowledge, not the cert. The cert will be a nice bonus though:)

Thanks!

I hear you, having the cert is useless if I can't produce good results from the knowledge.

I've slowed down quite a bit right now as I go through module 3 and path manipulation.. lots of cool stuff here. (best part is it jives with a lot of stuff I've been seeing at work)

cisco_trooper

If there is one thing I've learned in this field it is that I cannot force myself to study for tests I don't have an interest in. I set out quite some time ago to become a CCNP. It was a fairly arbitrary goal. I had a CCNA, it seemed like the right thing to do. Three years later I am skilled in quite a lot of stuff, but I still don't have that cert because of my disinterest in a particular exam. Go with your gut. If you want the CCIP, then do the CCIP. It will keep you moving and you just may discover some other stuff that you love doing that will keep you moving enough to go for the gold - CCIE. I'm hopping back on the wagon. I'm going CCIP. Best of Luck.